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REFLECTIONS By nelson dunstan T LEXINGTON, ."RXTTJOTriM T?V Ky., May Mow11 11.— TVm™ Down #• »*» . n m ki tt 4 n i m ■ ■l. ■_•_ ... . . . . T LEXINGTON, ."RXTTJOTriM T?V Ky., May Mow11 11.— TVm™ Down here in the Blue Grass they are still discussing the surprising Kentucky Derby and also speculating on how many will answer the bugle for the Preakness next Saturday. Early in the week, this writer was fairly certain that the race would have to be split due due to to the the number number of of entries, entries, but but so so due due to to the the number number of of entries, entries, but but so so many have been declared out of the Pimlico race it is our guess now that 12 or possibly 14 will comprise the field for the second leg of the "Triple Crown." Even as these lines reach your eyes there may be others declared out but, as we see it now, it will be Timely Reward, Big Stretch, Repetoire, Anyoldtime, Sir Bee Bum, Hall of Fame and Counterpoint, and awaiting them will be the Brookmeade Stables Bold, who was a winner earlier in the week, along with Alerted, Jet Fleet and Knowitall. At Coldstream Stud on Monday, Wallace Gilroy told us that his wifes Timely Reward would be a Preakness starter but that he held out greater hopes for the son of Reaping Reward in the Belmont Stakes which is at one and one-half miles. The horse that many here in the Blue Grass now believe to be one of the best sophomores in the land is Roughn Tumble who came out of California with the high hopes of the stable only to be declared out of the Derby. Dr. Charles Hagyard, who bred Roughn Tumble, tells us that he is back in light training, but that there is not much chance of his being seen in action until the Arlington Park meeting gets under way in Chicago. While Henry H. Knight, the master of Almahurst Farm, was chatting with Arnold Hanger, he said "I saw Roughn Tumble race in Cali- #• »*» . n m ki tt 4 n i m ■ Some 12 to 14 Will Answer Preakness Bugle Roughn Tumble Highly Regarded in Kentucky Duval Headley Will Not Wash Right Hand Bull Hancock Has No Fillies to Offer fornia and he impressed me as a hard hitting colt who would have done very well had he been a Derby starter. When he gets to Chicago, he will be the horse they will have to beat in the Arlington Classic and the American Derby." AAA One of the most popular young horsemen in Kentucky is Duval Headley, the nephew of Hal Price Headley. Young Headley now operates the Manchester Farm and he came very much into the picture last fall when his filly, Aunt Jinny, performed so well that John B. Campbell placed her in a tie with Herman B. Delmans How as the top fillies of the land in his Experimental Handicap ratings. In the Kentucky Oaks, How was the winner and undoubtedly must now be rated as the best three-year-old of her sex. Headley was naturally disappointed when Aunt Jinny did not live up to her promise to date this year. But on the next day, the Debutante Stakes was the secondary feature to the Derby on the Churchill Downs card. Headley won the Debutante with the filly Crownlet and the big surprise of the afternoon was that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, accompanied by Bill Corum, went down to the winners circle to present the trophy to the owner of Crownlet. He shook hands with the Duke and Duchess and ever since then he has refused ■l. ■_•_ ... . . . . to wash his right hand. With a grin a mile wide, he is walking around Lexington, holding his right hand up in the air and pointing to it with his left. He says "This is the hand that shook the hands of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and I am not going to wash it until I have to." AAA While visiting Stoner Creek Farm, an amusing incident came between John D. Hertz and Leslie Combs H., master of Spendthrift Farm, as to "the best looking stallion" standing in the Blue Grass area. Hertz, who has every right to be proud of Count Fleet, the sire of Count Turf, soundly maintained in a jocular way that his horse outstripped all others in physical appearance. The surprising part of it was that Combs, who has Alibhai, Jet Pilot and some eleven other fashionable sires standing at his farm, was just as certain that Nazrullah, who is standing at Claiborne Farm, is by far the best looking sire domiciled at any farm in Kentucky. Without attempting to get in the middle of such a controversy between two famous breeders, we can say a good word for both of these sires, one of whom sent Count Turf to the races, and the other who was responsible for Noor, the horse that was the conqueror of Citation in California last year. We were at the boat when Nazrullah docked in New York and he was little less than magnificent even though he had a long and arduous trip in the hold of a ship. Now that he has been at Claiborne for some six months, he has taken on weight that he lost on the ocean voyage. Today, he fully lives up to the word magnificent. In the stall next to Nazrullah, who still has his way to make in this country, stands Blenheim II., a horse who Continued on Page Thirteen REFLECTIONS I By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued from Page Forty -Eight created one of the greatest records of the many who came to this country during the past 25 years. Blenheim II. is now totally blind in his right eye, but Arthur B. Hancock, Jr., tells us that his crop of foals this year is regarded as the best that he has ever sired since his arrival in this country. A A 4 Everett Clay, who beats the kettle-drum for Hialeah Park, was not long in informing members of the press that both How, winner of the Kentucky Oaks, and Count Turf, winner of the Derby, were trained and prepped for their Louisville efforts in Miami, and goes on to explain that, as in the case of big league ball players, the sunny climate of Florida works to the benefit of the horse as well as the human athlete. In Florida, there is very little interruption in the training process, with the result that horses go to Louisville as fit as they can be made for a gruelling one and one-quarter mile race early in May. Dating back to 1933, when Charley O. ran third in the Derby, such horses as Roman Soldier, Brevity, Lawrin, Whirlaway, Market Wise, Shut Out, Alsab, Blue Swords, Pensive, Stir Up, Hoop, Jr., Pot o Luck, Faultless, Citation, Coaltown, Ponder, Palestinian and now Count Turf and Royal Mustang have gone from Miami to Louisville to run first, second or third in the Derby. It is an imposing list and bespeaks the benefit of the early training of three-year-olds in Florida and especially those who are pointing for the Derby and other spring classics. It was very obvious to everyone at Churchill Downs that quite a few of the horses who competed were not sufficiently tightened for a race at the Derby distance. On the other hand, some veterans maintained that they were overtrained and would have shown to much better advantage had the Derby been run a week previous. There again is that old "difference of opinion" that makes racing such a fascinating game. AAA Claiborne Farm, the famed Kentucky establishment of Arthur B. Hancock, has many of the most beautiful yearlings we have seen at that farm which has produced no less than four Derby winners. They will have a rather unique consignment this year to the Keeneland Sales in which they will offer approximately 20 colts but no fillies. A few weeks ago, Arthur B. Hancock, Jr., and Greif Raible, of Cleveland, Ohio, entered into a deal for the fifteen fillies that were raised on the farm. They decided to toss a coin as to which of them would make the first selection and young Hancock was the winner. He selected a filly by Bull Lea, out of his stakes winner, Blue Grass. At the end of the penny-tossing contest, Raible had selected eight fillies and "Bull" Hancock decided he would keep the other seven to build up his producing forces at his farm. As a result, Claiborne will offer only colts, and in the group, are some of the most impressive that this writer has ever seen in the Blue Grass region at this time of the year. One of the colts is by Blenheim n. out of Rose-gay and he is one of the best yearlings we have seen to date this year. Another is by Count Fleet — Black Wave, thus a half-brother to the Derby winner, Jet Pilot. And still another is a colt by Bull Lea, out of Risque Reigh, the dam of Riskolator. There will be many other beautifully bred colts sold at Keeneland late in July but, unless we miss our guess, this trio will be among the most sought after at any sale staged in the United States this season. They are beauties in every sense of the word. And so, too, are others to be offered by Claiborne. At a later date, we will have more to say about the entire Claiborne consignment.
